Travel Itineraries from San Jose
More on: Costa Rica Destinations
For those landing in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, there are plenty of accommodation options in this city and its immediate surroundings.
As for the city of San Jose, lower your expectations; you didn't come to this country for the city. Look for a good hotel here and head out from here to explore the nature in the area or interesting towns full of attractions.
Below are recommended hotels for those interested in traveling in San Jose and its surroundings, as well as for those traveling far from it but landing at a relatively late hour or departing at an early morning hour and needing a hotel in the city.
Recommended Hotels in and around San Jose
A charming and pastoral 5-star resort immersed in vegetation, with a spa, two pools, golf, tennis, and spacious rooms. A fifteen-minute drive from the city center, close to the airport, highly recommended for those landing late or departing early from San Jose. Free internet and parking.
Park Inn Hotel
A modern 4-star hotel, close to the city center, affordable prices, highly recommended.
Presidente Hotel
A 4-star hotel, in the heart of the city adjacent to the pedestrian mall.
Recommended B&Bs and Hostels in and around San Jose - Booking.com
For those who do not want to stay in San Jose, I recommend continuing on the day of landing (if it is not too late) to the Lands in Love Hotel and Resort, a magical place with wonderful hosts in the heart of a cloud forest located northwest of San Jose, about an hour and a half drive away.
Day Trips from San Jose
There is a variety of trips to waterfalls, volcanoes, tropical forests, and interesting towns around San Jose. It is worth taking a guided tour where they will drive you in an air-conditioned vehicle from one attraction to another, picking you up and returning you to your hotel in San Jose. Most of these trips also include lunch.
Booking Tours and Day Trips from San Jose on Viator:
Trip to Doka Coffee Estates, Poas Volcano, and La Paz Waterfalls
An interesting day tour in an air-conditioned bus can include the Doka coffee plantations, Poas Volcano, and La Paz Waterfalls.
From the bus that will pick you up from your hotel early in the morning, you can get an impression of the unimpressive city at the start of the drive. In every direction, the many bars installed on apartments and buildings in the city are prominent, as are the numerous garbage bags piled on the sidewalks; they do not have trash cans.
The coffee beans grown in Costa Rica are known for their quality due to the climate conditions in which they grow and the physical altitude where the plantations are located. On a tour of the Doka Estate coffee plantations, a vast and very well-maintained farm, you will receive explanations about the method of growing and roasting the coffee beans of various types. You can taste the different types and understand more about the popular drink we usually drink every day.
The bus climbs up the mountains through a rainforest almost to the crater of the Poas Volcano National Park. The crater is located at an altitude of 2078 meters above sea level and its diameter is 1.5 km. A short walk of about 600 meters from the parking lot will lead you to the spectacular viewpoint of the opening of the volcano crater, where there is a green and very acidic lagoon (considered one of the most acidic in the world!). The water temperature of the lagoon is about 40-50 degrees Celsius. It is not always possible to see the volcano crater as it may be covered in clouds.
Waiting for the clouds to disperse...
Video about Poas Volcano:
Even if you arrived and the crater is completely covered in clouds, wait a few minutes; sometimes a slight change in wind direction completely changes the visibility and suddenly the lagoon will be revealed to you in all its glory from within the fog. The mountain itself emits gases and sulfur vapors. It is advisable to arrive at the site in the morning to get the best visibility.
Near this viewpoint, there is an 800-meter path leading to a secondary crater of this volcano, which is also covered by a beautiful lake called "Botos Lagoon". Here the water is less hot and less acidic, and from the viewpoint, you can clearly see the lovely turquoise lake.
The next attraction on this trip is La Paz Waterfall Gardens. These are lovely gardens with the typical animals of Costa Rica including birds, leopards, monkeys, snakes, butterflies, frogs, and more.
The waterfalls are located in a rainforest, and before reaching them, you take an interesting tour of the animal gardens divided into several complexes within the rainforest. The toucans are so beautiful they don't seem real. They will be happy to fly over and sit on your shoulders. In the hummingbird complex, you can see dozens of colorful hummingbirds sipping nectar from a distance of a meter or two.
The various leopards are also beautiful, and in the butterfly house, there is a variety of Costa Rican butterflies in vivid colors. In your travels in the forests of Costa Rica, you will encounter most of the animals and birds found here in nature, except for the leopards, which are rare to see.
Further on the trip, you will leave the zoo and enter the forest, descending along neat and winding paths to the waterfalls, which consist of a series of high waterfalls one after another. After descending many steps and reaching the last waterfall, a bus will wait for you at the bottom to take you back to the waterfall entrance.
The tour usually also includes breakfast at Doka Coffee and lunch at La Paz Waterfall Gardens.
Trip to the Artist Town of Sarchi
You can combine the coffee plantation tour with a visit to the artist town of Sarchi, located about an hour's drive from San Jose. In the town, they mainly produce and sell woodworks of various types, ranging from small souvenirs to heavy furniture.
The town is known for a factory that has been producing (since 1903) one of the cultural symbols of Costa Rica: these are the famous oxcarts decorated and painted in many colors, which were the first means of transportation in the country. The factory is called Fabrica De Carretas Chaverri, and in addition to carts of all sizes and with a selection of magnificent paintings, you will find the largest and most successful variety of Costa Rican souvenirs. A guided tour is held on-site, telling the story of the oxcarts alongside the development of the country and including demonstrations of paintings on the carts, including personal experience.
In the center of the town stands a giant and impressive oxcart. In Sarchi, there are also diverse and well-maintained botanical gardens.
You can combine the visit to Sarchi with a visit to a nearby coffee factory, the Espiritu Santo Coffee Tour, which also includes demonstrations, explanations, and many tastings. The tour also includes a short film about local coffee and a visit to an ancient typical house, a sort of small "open museum" where you will see how people lived in the country hundreds of years ago.
Long Travel Itineraries from San Jose
You can book experiential multi-day tour packages throughout Costa Rica departing from San Jose here on the reliable Viator website. The tours usually include transportation, accommodation, most attractions along the way, and some meals. You can read about the destinations in these tours in my articles mentioned further down the page.
Booking multi-day tours in Costa Rica (from Viator):